YS schools rated ‘Excellent’

At the Nov. 13 meeting of the Yellow Springs Board of Education, Jane Sonenshein of the Ohio School Board presented the board with a banner honoring the district’s having earned an “Excellent” ranking by the Ohio Board of Education.

The ranking is based on Yellow Springs students’ performance on the annual state achievement tests, which were administered last spring.

“This takes a lot of hard work,” Sonenshein said. “You have been consistently excellent over the years I’ve been on the board.”

In accepting the designation, School Superintendent Norm Glismann thanked the board members, the teachers, principals, students and parents of Yellow Springs.

“This is a community-wide effort,” he said.

This is the third year in a row the district has received the “Excellent” ranking. Ohio school systems may receive one of six designations based on the test scores, with “Excellent” the second highest. The designations are Excellent with Distinction, Excellent, Effective, Continuous Improvement, Academic Watch and Academic Emergency.

The designation is based on scores from tests taken by third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, 10th and 11th graders in Yellow Springs public schools. Also included is the schools’ attendance and graduation rates. Yellow Springs students met 26 out of 30 state standards, which means at least 75 percent of students ranked at or above the “proficient” level in the subject.

Yellow Springs students failed to meet the proficient level in seventh grade math and eighth grade math, science and social studies.

Mills Lawn scores

Mills Lawn students tested on or above the “proficient” level in all grades and subjects.

In third grade, 85.7 percent of students scored proficient in reading and 87.8 percent proficient in math. Statewide, the average school score was 77.4 percent in reading and 79.3 percent proficient in math.

In fourth grade, 87.8 percent of students scored proficient in reading, 82.9 percent in math and 87.8 percent in writing. Statewide, the average school scored 81.1 percent in reading, 74.6 percent in math and 81.7 percent in writing.

In fifth grade, 98 percent of local students scored proficient in reading, 80.4 percent in math, 92.2 percent in science and 78.4 percent in social studies. Statewide, schools averaged 72.7 percent in reading, 61.8 percent in math, 66.4 percent in science and 64.8 percent in social studies.

In sixth grade, 90.7 percent of students were proficient in reading, and 93 percent were proficient in math, compared to the statewide average of 79.7 percent in reading and 76.6 percent in math.

McKinney, YSHS

McKinney School seventh graders tested “proficient” or above in two out of three indicators, and eighth graders tested “proficient” in one out of four indicators. Seventh graders missed the proficient mark of 75 percent in math, and eighth graders missed the proficient mark of 75 percent in math, science and social studies.

At McKinney School 90.5 percent of seventh-graders achieved proficiency in reading, 73.8 percent in math, and 88.1 percent in writing. Statewide, 77.3 percent of students achieved a proficient ranking in reading, 68.8 percent in math and 85.7 percent in writing.

In eighth grade, 82.4 percent of students achieved proficiency in reading, 74.5 percent in math, 68.6 percent in science and 70.6 percent in math. In the state, the average school scored 79.4 percent proficient in reading, 72.8 percent in math, 62.2 percent in science and 53.5 percent in social studies.

At YSHS 98.4 percent of 10th graders who took the Ohio Graduation Tests achieved proficiency in reading, 90.6 percent in math, 93.8 percent in writing, 87.5 percent in science and 84.1 percent in social studies. Statewide, the averages were 85. 2 percent proficient in reading, 79 percent in math, 85.2 percent in writing, 72.8 percent in science and 78.4 percent in social studies.

In all grades, Yellow Springs students achieved an attendance rate of 96.1 percent, compared with an average of 94.2 percent statewide. Yellow Springs had a district graduation rate of 94.1 percent, while the requirement was 90 percent. Statewide, the average school had a graduation rate of 86.9 percent.

School stats

According to the state report card, Yellow Springs public schools had an average daily student enrollment of 643 students. A little more than 15 percent of local students are African-American, and none are Hispanic, Asian or American Indian. A little more than 13 percent of students identified themselves as multiracial, and 69.7 percent are white. There were 15.6 percent of local students with disabilities at the time of the test.

One hundred percent of local teachers had at least a bachelor’s degree, and 77.7 percent had a masters degree, compared with 58.8 percent statewide.